Packed Campgrounds & Parks Impede RV Freedom

[Mach1tosh]

I can count on one hand the number of times we have stayed in a campground with hookups.
We just prefer the peace and quiet of the backwoods, boondocks dry camping experience.
We have a comfy queen bed, a stove with an oven, solar panel, a genny for cloudy/rainy spells and avoid #2 in the rig whenever possible.
Our stays range from 3 nights to a week and we live just minutes from the edge of civilization so it's not long to get away from wi-fi and cell service.

[TxLoser]

This is the biggest turn off to me about this hobby. Except for vacation time, I don't know my work schedule till about the 10th of the month preceding. I rarely camp in my home state of Texas now, because it's too hard to get a reservation with short notice. Bare in mind, I'm talking weekends and state parks due to having an 8 year old.

[wags999]

Sadly when many of us were growing up there was about 150 million in the US.. Today we have 330 million.. we may not like it but it's reality. Im sure the native Americans wanted to keep it as it was back in the 1700 hundreds also. It's only going to get worse, with more people retiring and the population growing. Add to the problem the cost to build a new campground is huge. It takes on average over a year just to get permits...seems everyone wants more campgrounds but no one wants it near them. The pressure on existing campgrounds just causes prices to increase.

We need to keep pressure on our elected officials to reduce unrealistic regulations that only add to cost if we want more campgrounds built to relieve the pressure.

[jloco]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

We like full hook ups. We think of our camper as our mobile cabin.
We do reserve our sites in advance, however.

Same here. That’s why we went seasonal on cape cod. We think of it as our little beach getaway place. No setup or tear down makes it a joy.
We both work full time and still managed about 80 nights this year. We get our money’s worth! Lol

[mkelly]

We took our new Eagle 330RSTS out last weekend for the very first time dry to the race at Talladega. Great time, state welcome center had facilities to empty tanks on the way home. We did take a Genny to run the air although we didn't need it. Sat outside around the fire and had a grand weekend. You're right, unplug and enjoy.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by mkelly

You're right, unplug and enjoy.

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it. All it takes is one good experience and you will catch the boondocking bug.

[Siamese]

My wife and I aren't really "campers". We view our 26BH as our traveling motel room, and use it to spend a few weeks away from our Michigan winter, and to visit interesting historical and natural attractions.

Our plan, as we got back into trailering two years ago was to stay off the beaten path. When it's freezing cold in Michigan, the warm that they have in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana is perfectly acceptable to use. Plenty to see and do. Any single overnight stays are done in a Walmart. Otherwise, we find an RV park with full or partial hookups and stay in one place for up to a week. We've noticed that the southern RV parks tend to be nicer than the Michigan parks and cost less. Must be the shorter Michigan season means they have to make their money in half the time and have to charge more.

Also, we do most of our traveling in the off season. Jan, Feb, & March are fine with us. We're not sitting around a campfire, we're visiting the local museum where it's 72 degrees inside. We'll travel to a destination, and generally not look for a park until we get there, and have no problem finding a park. Visiting New Orleans last winter, there were many partially filled, nice parks within 45 minutes of downtown. Then, on to Mobile to tour the battleship there.

Now, my wife wants to visit Key West, and similar popular spots. I'm the one who devised our "stay off the beaten path" plan, and I think she's been lulled into believing we can show up anywhere and find a spot with no notice. I guess I'll just have to have her call a few parks down there in February, and see what's available and for how much (rather than just show up there and find out the hard way).

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Siamese

Now, my wife wants to visit Key West, and similar popular spots. I'm the one who devised our "stay off the beaten path" plan, and I think she's been lulled into believing we can show up anywhere and find a spot with no notice. I guess I'll just have to have her call a few parks down there in February, and see what's available and for how much (rather than just show up there and find out the hard way).

Key West is one of those you'd either need to book way in advance or luck into a cancellation I think. The better the park you want the further out you need to book. Personally I hate planning and booking ahead, I prefer to wing it and see where we end up.

Just need to be US Military, they seem to have parks in some of the best spots. One right in KW.

[bartowham]

As RVs get larger, ours is a 43 foot Jayco, the situation grows even worse. We had reservations this weekend at a campground in Central Virginia. Upon arriving we found that although the site was technically large enough for us (100 by 20), the location of trees made it impossible to pull our rig into the site. After reviewing several other sites with the same problem it became obvious we could not stay at that Campground where we had reservations. As it is mid-October and many of the parks are having their Halloween events this weekend we had an extremely difficult time finding any availability. We were lucky to find a campground with water and electric hookups. All other campgrounds in the nearby area (50 Mile radius) that we called were full.

[SecondRetirement]

After our first year of full timing, we’ve found some of the best campground require a little research, flexibility and compromise.
Uncrowded sites can be found at city and county parks and fairgrounds. Casinos can also be a good find.
Moving a little ahead or behind “peak seasons” can result in no neighbors and awesome WiFi.
Use multiple campground websites for the same area. You’ll find drastically different results.
Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and VFW lots marked “No Overnight Parking “ without quoting a city ordinance may be fine for a descreet quick sleep over.

[Isaacs]

Around here we get a lot of Canadians who cross the border to shop and avoid their high taxes which, in part, pay for their healthcare. Don't get me wrong, these are fine people and I'm sure the local merchants appreciate their business but it does put a strain on certain campgrounds.

[bzgl40]

For those who boondock, how do you figure out where to go? I got the trailer that can go off road, I got generators, I know how to go 3 days on a water tank. What I don't have is the skill to back up the trailer if I get into a situation where I can't keep going due to the road or something. I can back it up in some tight spots but the fear of a dirt road with ditches on either side keep me in camp grounds

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Isaacs

Don't get me wrong, these are fine people.

Uh... thanks

We don't find that there's much stuff that's cheaper in the US any more. Fuel is usually -10% to even. Groceries even to more money. Weather.... well you got us there when it's winter.

If I buy anything to bring home it's usually tools and I buy in a low tax state as the 13% HST we pay is a big chunk on an expensive item. Last winter I bought a TIG welder.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by bzgl40

For those who boondock, how do you figure out where to go? I got the trailer that can go off road, I got generators, I know how to go 3 days on a water tank. What I don't have is the skill to back up the trailer if I get into a situation where I can't keep going due to the road or something. I can back it up in some tight spots but the fear of a dirt road with ditches on either side keep me in camp grounds

A lot of it is trial and error and word of mouth. Start talking with people who travel to the areas that you are interested in and you may get ideas of where you can boondock either on public or private land.

[spoon059]

Strong economy for several years has a downside. Even 13 years ago when my wife and I started camping, we literally picked up and drove to Disney the day after Christmas and spent 2 weeks in Florida. The day we left we called a park we wanted to stay in and they had sites available.


Fast forward a couple years and our February Florida trip required reservations a year in advance. Our son was born December 2014, so we cancelled our trip for February and have been waitlisted ever since. Finally got a spot for this February and we have a daughter that is due in January. We are planning to take our 1 month old to Florida for 2 weeks, rather than lose our site again.


Should be interesting...

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by bzgl40

For those who boondock, how do you figure out where to go? I got the trailer that can go off road, I got generators, I know how to go 3 days on a water tank. What I don't have is the skill to back up the trailer if I get into a situation where I can't keep going due to the road or something. I can back it up in some tight spots but the fear of a dirt road with ditches on either side keep me in camp grounds

If I have the time I'll use Google sat view to check out an area. I try to not drive up a road unless I either know I can turn around or it's at least wide enough to back out. Depending on where you want to camp there are usually boondocking areas that are easily accessible with plenty of turn space. If in doubt, unhook and drive the TV in to check an area out.

[E_Benson]

My family has only been camping in RV for ~1.5, but tent camped before that. Living in the Bay Area in CA, anything within 2 hours drive must be booked about 6 months out if you want a weekend site. Also, if it is a popular site, I am lucky to get anything when they go online 6 months out. Now, I just try to book a lot of weekends when I can in advance, and just know I will have to spend some money to cancel, but at least I have a spot when we can go (4 kids, baseball schedules, work travel, etc) make it very hard to know what summer weekends are like.

The downside, it takes away from the spontaneous, hey lets go camping this weekend. Trying to get friends together is very hard, because no one wants to commit 3-6 months in advance. We do a mixture of state parks, national parks, RV parks.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by bzgl40

For those who boondock, how do you figure out where to go? I got the trailer that can go off road, I got generators, I know how to go 3 days on a water tank. What I don't have is the skill to back up the trailer if I get into a situation where I can't keep going due to the road or something. I can back it up in some tight spots but the fear of a dirt road with ditches on either side keep me in camp grounds

Here in AZ there are tons of places! Google 'dispersed camping'. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground.

Essentially, get National Forest maps and start looking! If you head south toward Camp Verde, you'll see RVs to the east and west off 'Thousand Trails Road'. That area is dispersed camping and is flat and might be a good place to practice and only minutes from home for you. The down side is that you usually won't be alone.

Freecampsites.net will show you bunches of places, too. Of course it's going to be getting colder in higher elevations.

[gladecreekwy]

Originally Posted by bzgl40

For those who boondock, how do you figure out where to go? I got the trailer that can go off road, I got generators, I know how to go 3 days on a water tank. What I don't have is the skill to back up the trailer if I get into a situation where I can't keep going due to the road or something. I can back it up in some tight spots but the fear of a dirt road with ditches on either side keep me in camp grounds

Google Earth. Once you get used to what your looking at you can tell a lot about conditions on the ground.

[jpgale]

Originally Posted by E_Benson

My family has only been camping in RV for ~1.5, but tent camped before that. Living in the Bay Area in CA, anything within 2 hours drive must be booked about 6 months out if you want a weekend site. Also, if it is a popular site, I am lucky to get anything when they go online 6 months out. Now, I just try to book a lot of weekends when I can in advance, and just know I will have to spend some money to cancel, but at least I have a spot when we can go (4 kids, baseball schedules, work travel, etc) make it very hard to know what summer weekends are like.

The downside, it takes away from the spontaneous, hey lets go camping this weekend. Trying to get friends together is very hard, because no one wants to commit 3-6 months in advance. We do a mixture of state parks, national parks, RV parks.

So far the 2 times I have camped I have had no issues booking a campground in this area with only about a months notice. They were both KOA's but we enjoyed the first one enough to actually buy a trailer and the second was just a fun even if the marine layer did not lift until pulling out on the Sunday.

The first KOA was booked because my wife was getting nervous about going to Groveland near Yosemite during the Ferguson Fire, so we switch last minute. That was the KOA in Petaluma, the second we stayed at was the KOA just north of Watsonville

Maybe we will bump into you and not even know it . It happened to my wife at Watsonville, she was with the kid in the playground while I setup and another mom noticed that we were in Petaluma at the same time.